1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a musical percussion instrument such as a tom-tom, drum or the like, comprising a barrel over which a membrane is stretched.
This invention concerns the field of the manufacture of musical percussion instruments, and more specifically of those the sound emission of which results from striking or scratching a membrane stretched over a resonance chamber.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
Whether it is traditionally obtained from an animal skin, or, for modern percussion instruments, made out of a synthetic material, such a membrane is, classically, in the form of a disc capable of being equipped with means designed to permit its mounting, by applying tension, on a barrel adopting, generally, the shape of a cylindrical element open at its two ends, serving as the instrument's resonance chamber.
A type of membrane commonly used nowadays consists of a film of a synthetic material, such as Mylar™ (registered trademark of the company Du Pont de Nemours), shaped so as to offer a plane circular surface extended, on its circumference, by a curved goffered edge the external border of which is, classically, crimped in a strapping formed so as to define a shoulder extending all around the external face of said edge. Therefore, such a membrane has a substantially Ω-shaped section. This membrane, more specifically its central circular plane surface, is designed to be placed over an opening of the barrel, whereas the strapping this membrane includes is designed to receive a ring, placed over said shoulder, and made integral with the barrel or with a support thereof, by means of ties or the like capable of fastening said membrane and of stretching the latter over said barrel.
These ties are, classically, defined by a plurality of screws, passing through holes uniformly arranged at the level of the ring, and capable of being inserted and screwed on more or less deeply into orifices provided for on the barrel or on the support thereof. The handling of these screws by a user permits, besides the simple fastening of the membrane on the barrel, to also perform the adjustment of the tension of the membrane, necessary to obtain the expected sound from the instrument. This modification of the tension of the membrane is explained by the fact that a variation of the tightening of the screws corresponds, according to the case, to an intensification or a reduction of the pressure exerted by the ring on the shoulder of the strapping in which the external border of the edge of the membrane is crimped. Thus, the latter, also resting on the opening of the barrel at the level of the periphery of its central plane area, is then, for each tightening or loosening of the ring, respectively stretched or slackened with respect to this opening.
Being able to provide a percussionist with the possibility of placing himself, on his instrument, the membrane of his choice and, if need be, of replacing the latter as often as necessary with another membrane, for example in order to obtain a different tone, indisputably offers a practical advantage and a freedom of action.
Nevertheless, it was found out during utilization that the adjustment of the tension of the membranes of this kind on the barrel proves to be often an operation that is very delicate and tedious to perform, the re-tightening of the screws being generally carried out in a hazardous way, by trial and error. Thus, there is often a problem of load recovery, and of tension not uniformly distributed over the membrane, which can sometimes lead to deterioration of the latter, and making it difficult to obtain a harmonious sound.
On the other hand, membranes of this kind have the disadvantage of requiring numerous manufacturing stages, in particular for making the goffering of the edge and its crimping in the strapping, which finally affects the cost price of the instrument equipped with same.